Sport Psychology

Final PaperThis course has brought insight to the questions and thoughts I’ve accumulated throughout my athletic career. The top three topics I found most important are building self-confidence/mental toughness, coping with stress, and youth sports. My interest in building self-confidence and mental toughness goes farther back then I remember. I used to look at star players on my team and wonder how they were so confident and tough. I was the type of athlete that was great in practice but would choke in games. In a way I felt cheated, because I never had a coach that tried to help me. It was almost like they didn’t know what to do with me; so they would ignore me. Had I known more about sport psychology, I could have been more aware of my issues. Coping with stress is something that I could not do as an athlete. It was difficult for me to get out of my own head and just play the game. Once I made a mistake it would be on my mind for the next play. If there was a pressure situation, I was never the player to put in. Coping with stress is not only important from an athletic standpoint, but is helpful in everyday life. On occasion there will be a situation that you cannot control. Learning to cope with that stress in an eustress manor can help you move past it. I am well aware that as I become older I will have to face many situations that will cause stress, and I would like to be able to handle them in a healthy way. Lastly, I chose youth sports as an important topic because I have four nephews that all play sports. It never seizes to amaze me how tough coaches and parents can be on children. I’ve seen fights between parents, coaches yelling, and children crying. I’m sensitive to this topic, because I have a soft spot for kids. These shortcomings in youth sports goes far beyond them dropping out. It’s imperative they are surrounded by people that are going to lead by example to help them build confidence and good character. Another reason I find this topic...

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...The use of mental toughness in sports is essential, especially in professional league games, where focus and concentration is required in order for exceptional performance. The notion of ignoring distractions and focusing solely on the task ahead is constantly scrutinised by psychologists in order to determine the underlying factors resulting in poor performance (Carroll, 2013).
Mental toughness correlates to the term that refers to the positive attributes that are held to help a person cope with difficult situations, as it is seen to be a stress buffer that aids in pressurised and adverse situations (Clough et al. 2002). The term mental toughness is frequently used to describe the mental state of athletes, who are expected to persevere through difficult sport circumstances in order to succeed. Athletes competing in professional sporting tournaments are required to maintain a mental state that focuses solely on their sport; the refusal to be intimidated, the determination to finish on top, despite hardships and the ability to control and overcome emotions under immense pressure (Kent). The article, Masters 2013: How Elite Golfers Stay Cool Under Major Pressure (Carroll, 2013), highlights the intensity of the pressure associated with professional sporting, and the mental toughness that is essential to success. Similarly, the articles comprised by Crust (2009), Nichols et al. (2009), Dewhurst (2012) and the article by Crust and...

...Team Psychology and Its Effects and Causes
Introduction
Sportspsychology is a field of psychology which emphasizes on "performance enhancement through the use of psychological skills training", "Issues that are specific to the psychological well-being of athletes", "working with the organizations and systems that are present in sport settings", and "social and developmental factors that influence sport participation." Sportpsychology is recognized as a field of study within the kinesiology and physical education departments.
Sports and exercise psychology experiments were first set up by Norman Triplett in the late 1890's, other experiments were set up by Coleman Roberts-Griffith in 1925 and was known around the world as the "father" of modern sportspsychology. Although sportspsychology had an early start, not much real testing has been done until 1960 and 1970. In 1990, sportspsychology made a leap into modern day psychology with the influx of athletes who wanted to know how they're teams worked.
Sportspsychology has had its benefits throughout the times. As we progress in our own journeys in the field of physical education, many questions bounce back and forth; but I will concentrate on the team...

...brain and mind in sports activities. Sportspsychology encourages those engaging in sports activities to be in a positive environment that motivates their state of mind. The purpose of this report is to analyse the rolling marble results. In this project, there were 36 participants; 23 women and 13 men, aged 19 to 43 years. The participants were divided into 3 groups namely, Berwick, Gippsland, and Distance. Each roller had three rolls and the average of all three was calculated. The implication of this study is that, the game emphasizes more on mental strength and how an individual can handle pressure. Participants had to be consistent to understand the game and win. Before starting, students had a period to understand and familiarise themselves with the task.
Introduction
Although coaches emphasize more on the physical aspect of sport activities, sport psychologists focus more on the mind. Social psychology obliges the need for athletes to be equipped with the required skills and abilities to win. This field encourages athletes to value mental strategies such as early preparations, relaxation, and coping with pressures of winning or losing. Coaches are also encouraged to promote high self-esteem in participants. Based on the project’s results, one can affirm that students performed well when competing as a team rather than individually. The Berwick group had the...

...SportsPsychology
Scenario one: bottom of the ninth, full count, bases loaded, tied game. Scenario two: eighteenth hole, ten foot put to win the match. Scenario three: championship game, game tied, penalty kick awarded ninety minutes into the game. Three different scenarios all involving game winning situations, athletes, and pressure. Scenarios like these can occur in every sport at every level. Athletic competitions at all levels have reached new heights in almost every aspect of it. With the growing competition and talent, athletes now need both physical and mental strength to achieve their maximum performance level. Sportpsychology helps athletes enhance their mental strength needed to perform better in their sport by improving their mental skills.
Sportpsychology is a relatively new established field in psychology. According to Jarvis, the concept of sportpsychology is as old as psychology itself. The first cited sportpsychology experiment was performed by Norman Triplett during the nineteenth century (Jarvis). In 1920 the Deutsche Sporthochschule (German Sport University Cologne) was the first sportpsychology laboratory established by Carl Diem in Berlin, Germany (Careers in SportPsychology)....

...Sports in Society
Laura Ann Giraldi Sports in Society SportsPsychology: Self -- Confidence in
Sport Activity November 21, 1996
(1)
SportsPsychology is one of the most up and coming sciences of the
present time. This practice focuses on training athletes to use their mental
capacities along with their physical talent to reach what is known as peak
performance. Sports Psychologists analyze the performance of athletes and use
motivational, cognitive, and behavioral principles to teach them peak
performance levels. Sixty to ninety percent of success in sports is due to
mental factors and psychological mastery. Sensing the importance of mental
training in recent years, scientists have developed mental training programs.
These programs all vary in technique, however, they all include skills focused
on mastering the art of self-confidence. There are considerable amounts of
evidence in sports literature that there is a direct correlation between self-
confidence and peak performance.
Self-confidence exists in all walks of life. It is defined as: the
strong relationships between a person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior which
if motivated correctly can help an individual excel with confidence in anything
they try to do. Most of the time self-confidence is viewed in accordance with
how well an athlete performs at a certain...

...SportsPsychology
The division of Psychology that I have chosen to research is SportsPsychology. Exercise and SportPsychology is listed as division 47 by the American Psychological Association (APA). Alongside sports psychologists, many sports scientists as well as researchers work in the same fields to advance technology and better the future of athletes. Sportspsychology has one of the widest varieties of options as subdivisions within division 47. The most common of these sections is Section 1, which are known as “running psychologists” who primarily focus on the action of running or jogging. In order to become a sports psychologist you must first obtain your doctoral degree in psychology, as well as a license to be a psychologist.
Becoming a psychologist requires a decent amount of years’ work through schooling, and proper licensing to legally be able to take up an occupation in the field of psychology. Typically, a masters or doctorate degree is necessary to become a sports psychologist. However, due to the fact that many schools do not contain a sports and exercise psychology course alone, you may need to take separate courses involving psychology or variations of sports and physical...

...SportPsychology
To fully understand sportpsychology, we must ask ourselves two very
important questions, first, what is sportpsychology and second, who is it for?
Put in the most sim-ple way, sportpsychology can be an example of
psychological knowledge, principles, or methods applied to the world of sport.
"Two psychologists, Bunker and Maguire, say sportpsychology is not for
psychologists, but is for sport and its participants." (Murphy & White, 1978:2)
However, it can be argued that sportpsychology, can be for psycho-logy, just
as it can be for sports scientists, managers, teachers, administrators, coaches
and last but by no means least, the athletes themselves.
It is sportpsychology that has stood apart from the discipline of
psychology as a whole. "Its history is different, its concerns are often
different, its centres of learning and teaching are often different, and its
professional training is different." (Garfield, 1984:34) Yet despite this, sportpsychology remains permanently bonded to psychology through its common interest
in the fundamental principles of psychology, human behavior, and experience.
No one can deny the significant role which...

...Jacqulyn Bishop
Mr. Schleeter
English 10A
14 May 2012
SportsPsychology
My purpose is to tell you about sportspsychology. You may not know a lot about but that is why I am writing this paper. My topic is about sportspsychology. Sportpsychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of kinesiology and psychology. In other words it’s the physical body and the mind.
It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance. Some of these psychological factors include: anxiety, peer pressure, parents, motivation, self-confidence, personality, opposition, coach, and ability. It also involves how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors. Also the instruction and training for performance improvement. It is also the study and application of the attitude of athletes and their team mates that impact (either positive or negative) performance in sports and/or competitive setting.
I know sportpsychology has a lot to do with the players, parents, and coaches. Such as the parents can be way too harsh on the kids to do well or they might yell at them during or after the game. Telling them that they didn’t play good enough, you need to learn to do certain things, or that they did well which insures them that they...